Cruzeiro takes the lead, but does not hold the advantage and ends in a draw with Alianza

Cruzeiro and Alianza Petrolera entered the field on Thursday night (11), at 9 pm, at Mineirão. The match played in the second round of the South American Championship ended in a 3-3 draw and an unexpected turnaround for the Colombian team. Cruzeiro missed an excellent opportunity to renew the spirit of the Minas Gerais team that is not facing a good start to the year, and is still bitter about losing the state title to rival Atlético-MG, even playing at home last Sunday (7). Raposa obtained provisional authorization for Fernando Seabra to act as the team's coach, as the coach does not have a PRO license and took over the position after the recent departure of Larcamón, fired last Monday (8).

Cruzeiro achieved its first victory in the South American Championship in just 18 minutes of play, while Alianza was completely dominated and showed defensive fragility. In the second half, the Minas Gerais team showed tiredness and opened space for the opponent to react.

First half with Cruzeiro dominance

Seabra's team took risks at the beginning of the match, they were aware of where they needed to go, and the first goal didn't take long to arrive. At five minutes, William crosses into the area, Dinenno heads it without leaving the ground, but the shot goes past the post.

Just a minute later, Lucas Romero received the ball and finished from outside the area. Grazziani jumped, but didn't reach it, and the Minas Gerais team opened the scoring of the night.

_{Lucas Romero celebrates goal (Photo: reproduction/Instagram/@cruzeiro)}

At 12, it was Zé Ivaldo's turn to score. Matheus Pereira took a corner kick into the area, Zé Ivaldo went up and headed the ball with no chance of defense for the Colombian team. Raposa's third goal came at 18, when Arthur Gomes crossed into the area, Matheus Pereira headed it, from an angle, and scored.

At the end of the first half, Mayer Gil risked a dangerous shot, and the ball almost entered Cruzeiro's goal, and at 46, Michael Rangel scored for Alianza, but the goal was disallowed due to the player being offside.

Cruzeiro slows down and Alianza reacts

Seven minutes into the second half, it was time for the Colombian team to react. Zé Ivaldo made a mistake with the ball, Saldaña took possession and activated Batalla inside the area, who shot across the ball and scored Alianza's first. Raposa tried to extend the score at 13, with Dinenno heading to the ground. Grazziani palmed it and, on the rebound, Matheus Pereira competed with the goalkeeper who sent it to the corner. At 15, Alianza tried to reduce the deficit when Batalla invaded the area and played backwards. Manjarrés finished, and the shot hit the post.

The atmosphere began to heat up among Cruzeiro fans in the middle of the second half, when fans expressed dissatisfaction with the drop in the team's performance, especially from Rafael Cabral and Neris. Shouts of “race” echoed through Mineirão, showing that Cruzeirenses are increasingly impatient with the team's mistakes, to further inflame the fans' spirits, Dinenno missed an incredible opportunity at 25, when he was in front of the goalkeeper and finished out.

At 33, confirmation of the Minas Gerais team's fatigue came through Batalla's goal. The number 27 finished from outside the area, Cabral missed and Cruzeiro's advantage decreased. Alianza continued attacking and putting pressure on Raposa's defense until the unexpected equalizer in the 50th minute, when Figueroa, following a free kick into the area, rose free, headed, and scored.

Cruzeiro left the field to the boos of the fans, who were frustrated with the result obtained at home.

Featured photo: Cruzeiro shirt at the Mineirão Stadium symbolizing the team's expectations (reproduction/Instagram/@cruzeiro)